From our founding, KID has worked to reach out to others who share our mission to keep children safe. This week and next represent some of the fruits of the connections we have made. Monday, KID executive Director, Nancy Cowles, joined others at a meeting convened by Consumer Federation of America and Underwriters Laboratories to discuss injury prevention and child poverty. CFA’s earlier report had found that low-income children suffered more than other children from many types of injuries. The group discussed not only current data sources and injury prevention programs, but how to improve data collection, replicate successful programs and most importantly – turn national attention to injury prevention. Government agencies, researchers, health care providers and advocacy organizations all came together for this day of dialogue. Now, we will all work together to turn the dialogue to action.
Wednesday, KID will be again meeting with product safety experts at the CPSC Safety Academy in Seattle. This will provide manufacturers, testing labs and others an opportunity to learn more about CPSC’s regulations, standards and requirements. KID will be presenting on a panel on toy safety, highlighting some of the emerging hazards we have seen.
Then on Thursday, also in Seattle, the International Consumer Product Health & Safety Organization (ICPHSO) will be holding a Pacific Northwest Product Safety Training Workshop. Attendees will be able to learn more about selling online, green chemistry and efforts to keep unsafe products out of our ports.
Next week injury prevention comes to Chicago when the Safety Institute puts on a two day conference entitled, “A National Discussion on Injury Prevention” on September 24 and 25. Hear from a CPSC commissioner, Chris Nowinski, an expert on concussions and others. Again KID brings a consumer perspective to a discussion on home injury prevention. We’ll be highlighting recent products involved in injuries and discussing the steps that could have preventing the hazard in the final product. Space is still available.
You can count on KID to bring the consumer voice to all these discussions and to work to reduce injuries to children from unsafe children’s products. Have questions or want to learn more? Email Nancy Cowles or call our office.
